Bottle stopper and fastener



lNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

JAMES D. ROBERTS, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

BOTTLE STOPP`ER AND FASTENER.

SPECIFICATION `forzuuing part of Letters Patent No. 260,323, dated June 2'?, 1882.

Application filed May 5, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JAMES D. ROBERTS, ofA Boston, county of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in A Bottle Stopper and Fastener, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

My invention relates to bottle-Stoppers, and has for its object Vto enable the bottle to be stopped by means of a cork ot smaller size` than heretofore commonly used in connection with bottles of like size.

In this my invention I employ a cap composed of a metal annulus provided with a col'- lar to enter the mouth of the bottle to be closed. This eaphas a tapering passage to receive a common cork, which will be driven therein from the cork-guiding tube of a bottle-filling apparatus, the nose of the said apparatus having an annular projection to enter the passage in the cap and insure the direct entrance of the cork into the passage of the cap.

Many bottles for mineral and other Waters are stopped by corks driven directly into them by the usual plunger of the lling-machine; but such corks are larger in diameter than the diameter of the opening in the glass neck ofthe bottle. In this my invention, by partially closing the neck of the bott-le by means of a metal cap having a central hole I am enabled to stop the lled bottle by means of a comparatively small cork-as, for instance, I may use so-called vial-corks to stop the usual mineral-Water and beer bottles, which results in a very great saving remanufacturers. When driven into the cap the small cork forms part ofthe removable stopper composed of the cork and the cap. The cap has lugs at its sides, which receive fastening-links that connect the cap with the fastening-lever connected at one end with the bottle-neck, and adapted by its movements to keep the cap pressed closely into the mouth ot the bottle, or effect the removal of the cap from the mouth ofthe bottle to completely uncover the same for the discharge of the liquid from the bottle. The central passage through the cap is used only when filling the bottle.

Figure 1 represents in elevation and partial section the neck of a bottle containing myimproved metal cap stopped by a cork, the said iigure also showing in vertical section a por` tion of a bottle-filling apparatus to show the manner of filling the'bottlc and directing the cork into the cap; and Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the neck of a bottle stopped in accordance with my invention.

The bottle a,of any usual kind, is provided with the usual shoulder, b, surrounding its neck to receive the Wire c, the coils of which afford a bearing for the' pivot portion of the fastening-lever d, which is 'provided with two lateral loops, d', engaging eyes e upon the fasteninglinksf, connected at their upper ends with lugs g upon the metallic cap It of the bottle-stopper, the links and lever forming a toggle-joint. By this construction of the fastening lever and links it will be seen that the fastening-lever has pivots to enter eyes formed at the ends of the-links, instead of having eyes to receive pivot portions at the ends of the links, as in the usual manner, thus affording a much stronger fastening, while the loops d constitute convenient handles or thumb-pieces to receive the thumbs of the operator when pushing against the toggle-joint to move it and remove the cap h from the mouth of the bottle.

The cap h, instead of being a solid piece ot' metal, has a tapering opening, t', and a somewhat contracted tubular collar or portion, j, to

enter the' neck of the bottle, the said portions h and j forming an angle or shoulder on the outside to receive a iiexible washer, 7c, of rubber or other suitable material. The upper surface of the metallic cap It is smoothed to afford a seat for a yielding washer, m, surrounding the projecting nose 10 at the end of the cork-driving passage n of the bottle-filling apparatus, the said cork-passageabein g enlarged at its upper end to receive a cork, o, which is forced therethrough at the proper time, by any usual'cork-driving devices,into the passage in the cap h, as shown indotted lines, Fig. 1. Y

The liquid is forced in any usual manner from the liquid-tube p through the passage r into the cork-passage n, from which it descends through the opening in the metallic cap 71l into the bottle, there being a perfectly-tight connection between the said bott-le and the passagen through theeap h and washers 7c m. The displaced air escapes through the passage s, from which it may be conducted away by the pipe t. When the bottle is lled the cork o is driven down into the tubular portion j of the metallic cap h, thus completely stopping or closing the bottle, which may then be removed from the bottling apparatus, the process of tilling and stopping the bottle thus being the same as if the neck of the bottle were corked in the usual manner.

When it is desired to open the bottle the entire stopper, consisting of the metallic portion h, the washer j, and the cork o, is removed by breaking the toggle-joint of the fastening-lever in the usual manner, thus opening the bottle without necessitating the drawing of the cork, which, in reality, constitutes a portion of the stopper and is removed bodily therewith. The nose l0 of the illing apparatus enters the central opening in the cap h, thus insuring acontinuous straight passage to guide the cork o well into the central passage of the cap. On the return of the bottle to the bottler, its contents having been removed, the small cork yet retained in the cap will be removed and may be used over again, whereas in beer and other bottles containing fermented or carbonated liquids, stopped by corks driven therein,the corks removed by means of a corkscrew are commonly destroyed.

I have herein shown a portion of the bottlefilling apparatus and cork-guiding' tube with nose to enter the metal cap; but this I do not herein broadly claim, as it will form the subject-matter ot' another application for patent.

I claiml. A bottle-stopper composed of the open cap h, having a collar to enter the neck of the bottle, and a cork driven into the said cap, combined with links and lever to operate the stopper, substantially as described.

2. The fastening-lever d, provided with pivots d', and connected at its ends with the wire c about the neck of the bottle, combined with the fastening-links having eyes mounted on the said pivot d', and the hollow open cap h, its ears, the collarj, and the small cork o, driven into the said cap, all substantially as shown and described.

In testimony whercofI have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subseribin g witnesses.

JAMES D. ROBERTS.

Witnesses G. W. GREGORY, W. H. SrGsroN. 

